Old Town 172819 11

[Michael Grace]

Could someone please post the build record for Old Town serial number 172819 11? It is possible that there is information on the back- the canoe is modified in a way that may have been done at the factory.

Thanks!

 

[Benson Gray]

The Old Town canoe with serial number 172819 is an 11 foot long fifty pound model with thwarts in place of seats and a keel. It was built between January and March, 1963. The original exterior paint color was red. It shipped on May 22nd, 1963 to Quincy, Massachusetts. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image below.

This scan was created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others as you probably know well. A description of the project to preserve these records is available at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/records/ if you want more details. I hope that you will renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.html to join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. The back side of the card appears to be blank. The front side of the card usually lists all modifications that occurred before the canoe was shipped while the back side is typically used for repairs and events that occurred after the original shipment. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[Michael Grace]

Thanks, Benson. This is an odd one (hence my curiosity about a post-sale factory modification). What I thought turns out to be true- what's this world coming to? The canoe has three thwarts and no seats, unlike the typical 1-thwart, 2-seat design of this model. Funny thing is, there are diamond-head bolts through the inwales at seat positions, but the bolts are cut short- just under wales- and capped with nuts. The canoe was apparently built with seats, and an order came in for one with no seats. Instead of starting from a fresh hull, the factory apparently removed the seats from an existing canoe, cut the bolts short, and then put them back in as filler for the seat bolt holes. I've not seen this before.